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Former footballers Michael Owen and Steve McManaman are being urged to clarify their stance on bloodsports after they were seen at the start of a fox hunt in County Tipperary last month.
During the Tipperary Foxhounds January hunt, foxes were terrorised by a pack of 29 dogs, including one who was chased for "a very sharp 20 minutes" before being "marked to ground".
In a 2 February 2024 hunting report in the Irish Field, it was stated: "It was a ‘who’s who’ gathering, with no less than football legend, Michael Owen, now a big player in bloodstock with his trainer Hugo Palmer from their yard, Manor House, in Cheshire. Football royalty didn’t end there, as making up the trio were Steve McManaman, known to his fans as 'Macca' who, like Michael Owen, were star players for both Liverpool and Real Madrid." https://www.theirishfield.ie/sport-horse/other-disciplines/hunting-hallowed-acres-provide-super-hunting-803309
Owen played for England, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Manchester United and is now involved in horse racing.
The fox hunt was shamefully hosted by John Magnier's Coolmore Stud ("the Tipperary Foxhounds by kind invitation from John and Sue Magnier and family are invited every January to hunt the hallowed acres").
In a 25 January post on X, Michael Owen confirmed his presence there that day, commenting: "Great trip to Ireland with @MHS_HorseRacing [Manor House Stables] to see @coolmorestud followed by a night out in Dublin. What a place." He did not mention the hunt and it is unknown if he or McManaman participated in it or followed it.
In an email to Michael Owen, the Irish Council Against Blood Sports asked him to clarify his stance and, further to the Irish Field report, to disassociate from fox hunting.
We told him that the vast majority in Ireland are opposed to fox hunting and want the government to ban the bloodsport. A RED C opinion poll found that 77 per cent are in favour of a ban, with just 12 per cent disagreeing. A majority in both rural and urban areas want a ban.
We added: "You might recall that in December 2017, you tweeted a photo of a beautiful fox in your garden https://twitter.com/themichaelowen/status/939078246880235520 It is foxes like this who are victims of hunting. During hunts around Ireland, they are mercilessly chased to exhaustion and when caught, they are knocked off their feet, mauled, bitten, eviscerated and pulled apart."
The Irish Field report went on to outline how foxes were persecuted during the Tipperary Foxhounds hunt.
The first fox to be targeted was found "within a stone’s throw of the [Coolmore Stud] offices" and as he ran for his life, the pack of hounds were "away for a guided tour of the stud".
This unfortunate fox was chased for "a very sharp 20 minutes" before being "marked to ground in Skehan’s".
The fate of the fox was not revealed but in fox hunting terminology, “marked to ground” refers to the point when the pack of hounds chase the fox into an earth or drain and this is typically followed by the arrival of the hunt’s terriermen who cruelly catch the fox using shovels, spades and terriers before the doomed animal is brutally killed.
The hunters and hounds then "returned to Coolmore and again found". According to the Irish Field report, they "marked their fox to ground near Bawn Brack Stud, an outside yard of Coolmore".
Later, the hunt disturbed another fox - "hounds soon found and ran into Blackmore’s - though sadly Rachael was away on racing duty - before crossing the main Killenaule road into some forestry..."
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has previously highlighted Rachael Blackmore's disgraceful connection to this fox hunt. In March 2021, the Irish Field reported that she was “honed on the hunting fields and Tipperary Pony Club” and that she and her family have hunted with the Tipperary Foxhounds.
She was quoted in the Irish Times of 8 June 2019 as saying “I grew up on a farm and always had ponies and did a lot of pony clubs, hunts and races”. A signed race card donated by Blackmore was among the items up for auction in a fundraiser at last year's Tipperary Foxhounds hunt ball.
SEE ALSO
Jockey Rachael Blackmore's shameful connections to fox hunting
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2023/04/15/jockey-rachael-blackmores-shameful-connections-to-fox-hunting/
Owen overcome with messages of support after losing star horse on track at The Curragh
Former footballer Michael Owen was left “speechless” when messages flooded in from local supporters after he lost his horse at the Curragh on Sunday. Dubbed “the saddest day of my life,” Owen bid farewell to ‘Brown Panther’ after he fell and shattered his hind leg in the Palmerstown House Estate Irish St Leger. https://www.kildarenow.com/news/local-news/380959/owen-overcome-with-messages-of-support-after-losing-star-horse-on-track-at-the-curragh.html
ACTION ALERT
Cruel fox hunting should not be happening in modern Ireland. A RED C opinion poll, commissioned by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports, shows that a 77% majority agree that the government should ban fox hunting. The poll found that just 12 per cent disagree with a ban on fox hunting.
Join us in urging Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tanaiste Micheal Martin to respect the wishes of the majority and ban fox hunting in Ireland.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
X: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar
Tanaiste Micheál Martin TD
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
X: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD
Contact the leaders of the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to urge them to back a ban on fox hunting and all bloodsports.
Eamon Ryan
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
X: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan
Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
X: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD
Ivana Bacik TD
Leader, The Labour Party
Tel: (01) 6183136
Email: ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie
X: https://twitter.com/ivanabacik
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bacikivana/
Contact Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs and tell them to back a ban.
Email Fianna Fail TDs
micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie
Email Fine Gael TDs
leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie
Email Green Party TDs
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Email Sinn Fein TDs
MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie
Email Labour Party TDs
ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie; sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie
If you are a landowner, make your land off-limits to hunters. Find out more about how to do this on our Farmers/Landowners Page – http://www.banbloodsports.com/farmers.htm
Witness the cruelty of fox hunting
http://www.banbloodsports.com/videos.htm
https://youtu.be/cbLKs9pgQno